Slidestop occasionally engages in the middle of a loaded magazine

This is a discussion on Slidestop occasionally engages in the middle of a loaded magazine within the General Firearm Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; Hey guys, not sure if I this is a problem with my Kimber Ultra Carry II or not, but here is the situation.
Each time ...

Slidestop occasionally engages in the middle of a loaded magazine

Hey guys, not sure if I this is a problem with my Kimber Ultra Carry II or not, but here is the situation.

Each time I have taken it to the range, the slide stop has engaged a few times will the magazine is still loaded. I have been to the range with it 3 times. The first trip it engaged 3 times, the second trip 1 time, and yesterday it engaged (but I was shooting it left handed, with only 1 hand, just to see if I could, should the need arise.) The gun has 400 rounds through it, I am the only owner. Is this because I may have been limp wristing? The round doesn't chamber or jam, slide stop just engages. Would this be consider "failure to feed" or something different?

Look carefully at the slide stop, if it is engaging while the mag is loaded, it will show a small copper / brass colored line where the bullet touches it during feeding/ or extraction. all I did to fix mine was to polish the top of the slide stop a bit so it would clear.

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier
and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the
service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the
love and thanks of man and woman."

In the strictest sense of the term it is a "failure to feed" but, not really since there is nothing physically wrong with the usual areas of your pistol that would cause it to malf and not to chamber a round.

In other words nothing is preventing your cartridges from chambering. Like a rough breech face or a non-throated barrel or an untuned extractor.

You really just need a new slide stop.
Either that or switch ammo until you find a bullet nose configuration that won't catch on your existing stop.

I had the same problem with my Pro Carry II (and a couple of other issues that required a return trip to Kimber to correct). This specific issue was corrected by the modified slide stop of which JD speaks. I second giving Kimber a call. They seem like good people. I was very pleased with their customer service.

2. Get a stainless slide stop from a different mfgr? (current SS is stainless)

3. Or polish the one i have (will this void mfgr warranty?)

Is the Kimber you current carry gun? If so, I'd try an after market slide stop, if you're not carrying the Kimber, let Kimber fix it on their dime, that's what the warranty is for.

Polish may work, it may not pending on how much material is in the way. Slide stops aren't that pricey, if it were me I'd just replace it and keep the original as is in case you do have to send it back in for repairs.

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier
and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the
service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the
love and thanks of man and woman."

Not meaning to start the good ol' MIM thing up again but, if you are carrying your Kimber for self-defense I would not get another MIM slide stop from Kimber.
I would switch it out for a higher quality machined tool steel slide stop.
Remember that the slide stop is not just a slide stop. It also is the pin that runs through the barrel link and it is a highly critical part.

Exactly right........

Originally Posted by flagflyfish

Look carefully at the slide stop, if it is engaging while the mag is loaded, it will show a small copper / brass colored line where the bullet touches it during feeding/ or extraction. all I did to fix mine was to polish the top of the slide stop a bit so it would clear.

When a gun operates properly, the magazine follower engages the slide stop after the last round is fired. What's happening in your gun, is that the ammunition is engaging the slide stop. As one poster suggested, polishing the area with the traces of copper would work. This would require a very fine file or stone and only the slightest removal of metal be made with frequent testing to see if it functions correctly.
I have worked on many 1911's and this problem is not that uncommon. Any gunsmith could correct it or as others have suggested, simply replace the part.
Definitely get it corrected, it is a SD disaster waiting to happen.

Called Kimber, they are sending me a modified slide stop. I took my UC2 into a gunshop today, and they seemed to believe it may be a problem with the plunger spring being too weak. I guess we'll see....

This problem shows up on a number of 1911s regardless of brand. As stated the solution is to remove enough metal from the tab activated by the magazine follower when the last round has been chambered. The cause is an oversize slide stop coupled with certain bullet shapes. The rounds in the magazine must not come into contact with the slide stop. Ensuring you have a full strength plunger spring, having a small dimple cut into the stop so that it will not bounce up and lock the slide and making sure that a thumb is not exerting any pressure on the bottom of the slide stop will usually solve this problem. A common modification on 1911s used in competition is to cut the slide stop back until the slide will NEVER lock back on empty. The only way to lock the slide back is to manually activate it while pulling the slide back. All of my 1911s have this mod to ensure they will not lock back with rounds remaining in the magazine. I personally do not see the logic of the "lock back on last round" feature of the 1911. I would much rather have a gun that will not lock back on empty than one that MIGHT lock back with rounds remaining. That said, I don't carry a 1911 for CCW. I have seen many 1911s lock back with rounds remaining in matches or suffer FTF or FTE problems to place complete faith in them. I carry revolvers.